Bhopal gas tragedy: People will question those who helped Anderson flee India, says MP Min

Remembering the Bhopal Gas Tragedy on its 37th anniversary, Madhya Pradesh Health Minister Narottam Mishra on Friday called the incident ‘unfortunate’. Speaking about the tragic incident, Mishra said that the people will question those who helped Warren Anderson to flee this country whenever the event is discussed. He went on to add that arresting Anderson, who was CEO of the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) at the time of the Bhopal disaster in 1984, was necessary to provide justice to the victims.

Speaking to ANI on the 37th anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, Narottam Mishra said, “This was an unfortunate incident. But whenever the gas tragedy will be discussed, people of the country will question those who helped Chairman of Union Carbide Corporation Warren Anderson flee from India”. The State health minister added, “Had Anderson been arrested, the victim of the tragedy would have received appropriate compensation and justice.”

Annually, December 2 is observed as National Pollution Control Day to commemorate the lives lost in the Bhopal Gas tragedy of 1984. The event that took place on the night of December 2nd and 3rd is considered one of the biggest industrial pollution catastrophes in the history of the country.

Earlier in September, the tragedy was once again brought to light after the Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the state government to provide free treatment to Bhopal Gas tragedy victims who are suffering from cancer in AIIMS. In a report submitted on August 16, the Monitoring Committee headed by Justice (retd.) VK Agarwal had pointed out that the cancer patients were not only being sent to private hospitals but also being denied free treatment.

What is the Bhopal Gas tragedy? 

There was a massive calamity in Bhopal on December 3, 1984, when the leak of poisonous gas from the Union Carbide pesticide plant killed thousands of people. While the initial death toll was speculated to be less than 3,000, the activists fighting for the Bhopal Gas tragedy estimate that nearly 8,000 to 10,000 people passed away in the tragedy. While Warren Anderson, the Chairman of Union Carbide who was the main accused in the case absconded from legal proceedings in India, a Bhopal court convicted 7 persons associated with the company and sentenced them to two-year imprisonment. Anderson passed away in 2014.  

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